exclusive economic zone

noun

Updated on: 12 Apr 2018

Definition of exclusive economic zone

: the area of sea and seabed extending from the shore of a country claiming exclusive rights to it

Recent Examples of exclusive economic zone from the Web

But another concern is whether or not a nation’s exclusive economic zone, which stretches 200 nautical miles offshore, is reduced if a remote, outlying island is literally washed off the map.

— paul takahashi, Houston Chronicle, "Seafood restaurants squeezed by climate change, growing appetites," 6 Apr. 2018
Benham Rise, which faces the Pacific Ocean, is approximately 24 million hectares (59 million acres) in size and encompasses the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and continental shelf further out in the ocean.

— jim gomez, The Seattle Times, "Duterte warns he’ll order navy to fire if sea wealth taken," 10 Feb. 2018
France has three Indian Ocean territories — Reunion, Mayotte and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands — comprising a total of almost 1 million French citizens and commanding a large exclusive economic zone.

— Washington Post, "Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea," 12 Mar. 2018
France has three Indian Ocean territories — Reunion, Mayotte and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands — comprising a total of almost 1 million French citizens and commanding a large exclusive economic zone.

— christopher bodeen, Fox News, "Recent developments surrounding the South China Sea," 12 Mar. 2018
Duterte was referring to the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, a stretch of sea where coastal states have been granted exclusive rights to exploit natural resources under a 1982 U.N. treaty.

— jim gomez, The Seattle Times, "Duterte warns he’ll order navy to fire if sea wealth taken," 10 Feb. 2018
The latest missile test in November reached an altitude of about 2,780 miles and flew 590 miles, passing over Japan before splashing into waters in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

— NBC News, "North Korea missile tests prompt Tokyo’s first attack drill," 22 Jan. 2018
Strong winds pushed it away from the Chinese coast, where the collision happened, and into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

— author: chen aizhu, muyu xu, Anchorage Daily News, "China says sunken Iranian tanker may now be leaking heavy oil," 19 Jan. 2018
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which both China and South Korea are parties, coastal states can claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) up to 200 nautical miles from their coastline.

— james griffiths, CNN, "South Korean coast guard fires 180 machine gun rounds at Chinese fishing vessels," 20 Dec. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'exclusive economic zone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.